Literary Agents

I just received a rejection letter from one of the literary agents I queried and decided to focus this post on the querying process. It's probably one of the most frustrating aspects of trying to get published. Obviously, there is the option to skip querying agents and just self-publish, but it's not my first choice. I'll dedicate a full blog to my thoughts on self-publishing versus traditional publishing, but for now I'll just say my first option is traditional publishing, which involves trying to land an agent.

It's not required to have an agent, and I have submitted Relentless Blades to several publishers who accept un-agented submissions but have yet to hear back. While it is possible to land a traditional publisher without an agent, it's much more difficult, hence I am trying to acquire an agent.

Before I get to the responses I've received, let me say the process of querying an agent is exhausting. First of all, you need to search for agents that accept submissions in the genre you're writing in, so for me that is fantasy. Next, you need to narrow down those agents you found to those that are currently open to accepting submissions. Finally, you need to read all the fine details of how each specific agent and agency accept their submissions, and from my experience, it's not at all standardized.

Some agents, although few from what I've experienced, still request physical copies of the query letter and sample. Those were not very common. Most either require an email query letter or the use of the Query Manager submission portal.

Those that require an email, usually require everything to be embedded within the email, including the query letter, synopsis, author biography and writing sample. Most do not want attachments of any kind. However, that is not hard and fast, as I did encounter a couple that did want the sample chapters to be attached as separate files. 

At least half the agents I've queried so far use Query Manager, so nothing is emailed. You follow the prompts and fill out all the information they require. Most are fairly standard to include a place for your name, title of the book, genre, word count and your email address. There is usually a section for the query letter, another section for the author biography, another for the synopsis and one for the writing sample.

Whether an agent accepts submissions through Query Manager or via email the requested writing sample various widely by agent. There were some that wanted the first chapter, some that wanted the first two chapters, some the first three, some only the first ten pages, one that wanted the first fifty pages and a couple that wanted no writing sample, only the query letter and synopsis.

The moral of the story is, if you're an up-and-coming author, be prepared to do your agent research and don't think one query letter or writing sample will fit all. You need to pay close attention to what each specific agent requests.

As I write this blog, I've sent twenty-one queries (21) and have received nine (9) rejections. I'm still new to this, but from what I understand, it's common to receive no responses, so having received an almost 50% response rate feels somewhat positive. Three of the nine responses, including the last one, have a positive tone. I've included them below but have removed the agent's name and agency.

Dear Russell,

Thank you for sending me the manuscript for RELENTLESS BLADES. Unfortunately, this one isn't as strong of a fit for me as I hoped in order to champion the piece. I'm sorry to have to share such disappointing news. The publishing industry is so subjective, so what may not be working for me could be just the thing another agent is looking for.

Remember, this pass is only a pass on this piece of work and not on you as an author. I would be delighted to be considered for future projects.

I'm rooting for you!

Dear Russell –

Many thanks for writing. You have an interesting story to tell and there's a lot to like about your approach. But in the end I'm afraid I didn't come away quite fully convinced this was something I think I'd be able to represent successfully. I'm sorry not to be more enthusiastic but thanks nonetheless for giving me a chance to review it and best of luck in finding it the right home. 

Dear Russell Carroll:
 
Thank you for your query on Relentless Blades which I regret we must pass on.
 
Due to the number of clients that we currently represent we have to be extremely selective on any new project.  Please keep in mind that your work made it to the second round of readers here at the Agency. Although we had to pass on it, given the amount of material we look at on a daily basis, the fact that yours was selected for a closer read speaks volumes.
 
Now, this is the point in the letter where I usually offer some advice.  But I have no advice since I don’t have any problems with your submission; it is well-written and well-presented.  It’s just not the book for me and every book deserves an agent who is 100% in love with it and  I am sad to have to say that I am not that person for Relentless Blades.  Other than that, I don’t have any advice other than if you aren’t already a member of The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, I highly recommend them. They have a lot of resources for both the beginning and also the experienced writer:  www.sfwa.org . 
 
We wish you every continued success with your writing career and keep on writing!

All three have some positive things to say about my work, particularly the last one, which was actually the first received, but are also frustrating in the sense that they don't give me an idea of what I can do to edit the work to improve my chances of publication. 

I understand that agents are extremely busy and do not owe an author any explanation of why they are passing. However, each of these agents took the time to respond personally and offer some form of encouragement. It seems like minimal effort to write one or two more sentences (nothing detailed) giving me some idea of where I can focus my attention to improve my work. 

That’s my plea to any agent that might happen to read this, please give authors any tips you can as to why you’re not accepting the work. Any feedback is very helpful and appreciated.

I’m not giving up. I’m going to continue sending queries until I get the right agent who will be excited to represent my work.

Beta Readers

This blog post is going to be a bit of a rant about beta readers. Some of you may wonder what a beta reader is. Well, quite simply, they are people who read unpublished manuscripts, ideally to provide feedback to the author, so the author can make changes before sending it to agents and publishers.

An author can only stare at their own work so many times before they miss things. It's human nature. The human mind naturally fills in missing pieces because in our mind, we know what is supposed to be there. After an author edits their manuscript to the best of their ability, it's time to turn it over to beta readers for feedback.

Beta readers are not typically editors. Editors come later in the process. Beta readers are usually representative of the customer the author is targeting to buy the book. Beta readers read the manuscript and leave comments and feedback. This feedback can be about anything. They may comment on things they don't understand, or about plot holes they notice. They may point out characters they like or don't like, or whether the pacing of the story is too fast or too slow. Most beta readers are unpaid, but it's not uncommon for authors to pay for this service. I now understand why authors would pay for this service. I'll get to that in a bit.

An author may allow beta readers to read the work and comment on anything they want, or they may have a specific outline of things they want beta readers to be watching out for. I tended towards the former. I did specifically mention that I wanted to know if the story was fun to read and entertaining. I wanted to know if the story was engaging and how they felt about the two protagonists.

I sought out about six beta readers. I queried various writing forums and made posts looking for beta readers. I was sure to include the genre, word count and a synopsis of the story. I found six people who said they were willing to beta read for me. I was very excited and quickly uploaded my manuscript in googledocs and gave them all access. 

Keep in mind, I didn't coerce anyone to read my manuscript. I didn't beg anyone. They all volunteered to read it of their own volition. One beta reader let me know up front that she reads slowly, and I told her that was okay with me. The other five gave me no such admissions.

Fast forward six weeks and the only beta reader still reading is the one who said she reads slowly. I am thankful for her. She has been communicative and has left good feedback. All the rest flaked out and stopped reading. 

Given that they were all doing this for free, I tried not to push anyone or check-in too often, but after the first two weeks, when I noticed there were very few comments, I did reach out to all of them to make sure they were okay, and to see if they were still interested in reading. They all responded they were fine and were enjoying the story. A couple said they had gotten busy, but they assured me they would keep reading. Did they? Nope, or if any of them have continued, none left any comments.

I tried checking in after about another week, and got the same type of response, but stopped after that. I could see the writing on the wall. I was ghosted. Here comes the rant. Look, I understand none of them were being paid or were under any formal obligation to read my story, but they all volunteered and it's very frustrating and annoying to take people at their word, only to be let down. If you don't like the story or find it boring, please say that. At least that's feedback that I can use to assess where maybe I need to make changes. As it is, none of them said anything so I have no clue why they all dropped out.

From reading many writer's forums, my experience does not seem to be abnormal with beta readers. It seems pretty common for most to drop out. In some small way I understand. They don't understand just have much the author is counting on their feedback. It's vital! Most of them probably don't understand the commitment they are making and place beta reading on the very bottom of their totem pole of daily activities.

If you are a beta reader, I ask you to please consider carefully before volunteering. If you see something on your horizon that will make you busy, don't volunteer. If you aren't 100% sure you want to beta read, don't volunteer. Once you commit, please follow through. I know I've beta read for two people so far and I make sure I follow through because I know how important the feedback is.

Having said all that, I am in the market for several beta readers, so if you'd be interested in reading Relentless Blades, and are positive you will finish, please let me know.